It is well known in the field of dentistry that failure to remove plaque from dentition surfaces and debris from between dentitions is a principal cause of dental diseases, such as tooth decay and gingivitis and the like. Removal of plaque and debris by brushing is the commonest and easiest method known. However, brushing is generally inadequate, especially when self-administered. A more efficient and known technique is the cleaning of the dentition surfaces and areas between such surfaces by using a dental tape or floss which is moved reciprocally over and between the dentition surfaces. Furthermore, the reciprocating motion of the floss as it is manipulated over and between the dentition surfaces is beneficial as a treatment for and prevention of periodontal diseases, such as gingivitis and the like. This is so since the free margin of the gingiva which is adjacent to the individual teeth of the dentition and forms the gingival sulcas can be readily reached by dental floss, although it is generally inaccessible to a brush or other instruments, and the sulci are subject to the invasion of plaque or colonies of bacteria which cause diseases of these tissues. Thus, floss, in general, is particularly beneficial in removing plaque and debris, as well as serving, in addition, as a vehicle for the application of medication. On the other hand, dental tape or floss is inconvenient and awkward to handle.
Consequently, much development has been undertaken in the past to provide dental tape or floss in various forms which is more convenient to handle and use. In addition, much development has taken place to provide mechanical devices for the flossing of dentition surfaces. Therefore, past developments have broadly involved the provision of dental tape or floss in various forms to render the same more easy to use and the provision of mechanical devices to support or hold the dental tape or floss in a manner so that it can be employed with greater efficiency and facility.
As an example of such developments, U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,687 discloses a flossing device which is manipulated by hand and provided with a pair of spaced, resilient arms having fingers extending therefrom. The fingers are equipped with knobs on their distal ends and a length of dental tape or floss having a grommet on each end is disposed over the knobs on the ends of the fingers. A somewhat similar device, but which is power driven, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,354 in which the dental tape or floss is tensioned between a pair of L-shaped arms attached to a handle which is adapted to be driven by the power element. On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 3,927,686 discloses a hand manipulated flossing device which includes a handle and an adjustable head provided with a single strand or a plurality of strands of dental tape or floss.
Still another dental cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,835,872 in which a flexible dental tape or floss is disposed on a handle having a detachable yoke for tautly supporting a run of the tape, the tape being attached to a pair of anchor pins disposed on the handle and one of which is disposed on a reciprocable trigger mounted in the handle for the purpose of tensioning the tape. The tape per se is provided with non-elastic loops at each end which are disposed over the previously mentioned pins. U.S. Pat. No. 3,828,804 discloses still another apparatus which is a hand manipulated device for cleaning teeth that includes a handle with a nub disposed thereon and which is provided with extending, spaced arms having notches at the ends thereof. An endless or circular elastomeric dental floss or tape is disposed in the notches thereby passing across the space between the arms and around the nub. In a variation of the device a simple length of elastomeric band is anchored in the notches of the arms by means of shims or heads.
A further dental cleaning instrument is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,274 in which a strand of dental floss is mounted on an extended fork which supports the strand and permits an oscillating movement which is imparted thereto by a drive means. In addition, the device also includes a spool for carrying the strand and for registering a new, unused portion of the strand for use in each subsequent cleaning cycle. A still further dental cleaning device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,667,483 in which the device includes a pair of projecting arms disposed on a support frame, the arms being provided with guides at their outer ends to receive and permit relative movement of floss which passes from a spool to a take-up reel mounted on the supporting frame. The floss is driven in a reciprocating manner through a drive means located in the support frame and the device is provided with means to alternately remove floss from the supply spool and feed it to the take-up spool after each use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,022 there is disclosed another powered dental cleaning or polishing device in which a tool having a conical stem portion is adapted to be inserted in and removed from a handle in which a reciprocating socket is provided therefor. The operating end of the tool is wedgelike and pointed, two broad sides being rough in order to abrade dentition surfaces and a third side thereof being narrow and smooth in order to prevent injury to the gingiva. Another power driven cleaning device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,534,745. The device includes a housing provided with spaced prongs and a dental tape or floss holder and supply unit adapted to be removably attached to a power unit which imparts reciprocating motion to the tape as well as permitting the feeding of new tape to the unit after each use. Finally, U.S. Pat. No 3,421,524 discloses a power driven dental cleaner including a power unit which is adapted to receive a cleaning unit which includes an elongated shaft provided with a pair of spaced tynes. A dental tape or floss supply holding member is removably positioned on the power unit and the dental tape or floss is fed therefrom through an eyelet in each of the tynes and back to the supply holding member where it is taken up on a take-up spool.
While the various devices disclosed in the above-mentioned patents are useful for cleaning dentition surfaces, they still exhibit various disadvantages. For example, many of them are extremely complex in structure and consequently relatively expensive to manufacture. In addition, many of the known structures are relatively difficult to employ, often being difficult to load and require complex adjustment to impart the required tenseness to the dental tape or floss utilized therewith .
In addition, many of the known devices, such as those referred to above, are not provided with means to automatically stop the movement of the floss should it become caught or jammed on the dentition surfaces. Furthermore, due to their particular construction, many of the known devices do not provide maximum contact of the floss with the dentition surfaces to be cleaned and, in addition, due to their construction, necessitate the use of more than the needed amount of dental tape or floss for carrying out a given cleaning operation. There exists, therefore, the need for a dental prophylaxis device and a process for dental prophylaxis which do not exhibit the above-mentioned disadvantages. The present invention fulfills this need.